Hey all. Thanks for checking in. It's been crazy around here.

We went to the clinic on Friday, (two days ago), to have Ken's chemo pump removed. No sooner did he get out of the truck, and he said "I'm gonna pass out." I said “Oh no you're not!”

I grabbed his belt, and motioned for the guy working the door to bring a wheelchair. We got him into an exam room where they took his blood pressure, which was 60/40. The doctor called for an ambulance, which appeared in seconds. They took Ken to the hospital where they ran tests, and determined that he was dehydrated. (Dehydration is common, during chemo treatment, due to all the throwing up, even though they had put him on an I.V. to keep him hydrated.) And, he had also taken one of his medications just before we left the house, and one of the side effects of this medication is that it can make the blood pressure drop.

So we're back on track, now, and Ken has the next two weeks to recover from this last week of chemo, before they hit him, again. He is trying very hard to eat and drink, as much as possible, and he has been a wonderful patient!

I hope I have better stories next time.

Until then...Inga

Hi everyone, I hope you are all enjoying the rain. I find it a very suitable back drop for the Harry Potter marathon weekend they're showing on cable. When I give Ken his nightly meds, I call it "my potions final". Some I have to dilute, some with water, some with bacteriostatic sodium chloride.(Certainly don't want to mix those two up)

Tomorrow we go in for chemo (#1 of six). We start at the hospital with an infusion that should last a couple of hours, then on to Springfield Clinic to have a pump hooked up that we will take home where it will run until Friday. They are talking like he will have one week of chemo then two weeks off. And, they will do that for six rounds with scans every third round.

His weight is holding steady at 155 lbs. and I am a little concerned about what this week will bring. He has really been trying hard to eat more, but some days food just doesn't work. He hasn't been throwing up very much in the past week, but as we decrease his morphine patch, I think he is having a bit of withdrawal side effects. He has been drinking a lot more water, because he is still trying to pass that kidney stone.

All in all, things are going pretty well, however slowly. Good days and bad. But the bad are fewer in number than I expected at this stage. But, now it's on to the next stage-Chemo. Serious Chemo. Those tumors are about to get a Serious butt-kicking.

Thank you all for checking in. I'll write more, soon.

Inga

Hey everybody! Just a small update. Chemo didn't happen on Monday. Apparently, there was a mix up in scheduling. So the new plan is for this coming Monday, 3/22/2010. We'll go to the hospital for an infusion, then on to the Clinic for a pump, which will run 24/7 for five days. Then, two weeks off, and on the third week, we repeat.

It has been pretty quiet around here. Lots of doctors appointments, nurses coming to the house, etc. etc. A little throwing up this week, too. But not too bad.

I hope you are all enjoying that sunshine. I hope to post again soon. Love to you all. Inga

Hey all! I have finally found the time to post, and I am happy to report a good session with the doctor!

Ken's CT showed that the tumors in his esophagus have shrunk, and he has responded well to the chemo and radiation. The spots on the liver are unchanged, but that indicates that they are likely to be simple cysts. The bone metastases seem unchanged, but chemo doesn't work well for treating cancer within the bone, because there is no blood flow to carry the chemo to the sight. The biggest worry for the bones is their susceptibility to breakage. So, they are starting him on an osteoporosis drug that does three things: (these drugs are unbelievable in how they treat in multiple ways):
First, it puts up a shield that blocks cancer cells from getting into the bone.
Second, it builds bone where the cancer may have broken it down.
Third, it produces an environment where the residing cancer cells find it unbearable to live. So they leave. Where they go when they move out, I don't know.

The lymph nodes in the pelvis are still inflamed, but they say that may be because of the 3.5mm KIDNEY STONE!! We both just rolled our eyes. That's nothing new. Okay, here we go again! Urologists, pea in a cup, etc. etc. etc. The blood work looks good, so it's another round of chemo, next week.

Ken is still kinda weak, but he is trying really hard to eat and to get up and move around. Spring will be good for us all, around here.

Thanks for checking in. We'll talk soon.

Inga

Today we had a CT scan to determine if all the chemo and radiation worked.

We should learn the results Monday.

Double up on the prayers.

Inga

Hey everyone! Thanks for checking in. I hope all is well on your end of things. It has been crazy around here. For instance, it is 2:30 in the afternoon and I am just sitting down to breakfast.

There is not a lot going on, however, with Ken. He sleeps a lot. I am reminded of Forrest Gump talking about his Jenny and how she "slept and slept like she hadn't slept in a hunded ye-uhs". When he's not sleeping, he's watching movies, playing with the cat, and he's even been out to the shop a few times.

His mechanics, Walt and Roy, were allowed by him to visist Saturday, while I attended my dear friend's wedding. He was pretty worn out afterward and requested no more visitors. So his recovery is going rather slow, but that is to be expected. A friend said that for every one week in the hospital it takes three weeks to recover from it. So that puts Ken at 21 weeks, and were only 4 weeks into it. So we pray for patience.

Some good news, though! Ken has officially gained 10 lbs. since he has been home. 155!! So all that heavy cream and extra butter are doing their jobs. Problem is, is that when he doesn't eat something, I usually end up eating it. Not good for my girly figure.

Oh well! Whatever it takes. I love you all. And I will try to find time this week to address you all again.
Bye for now! Inga.

Hello all! I found a few minutes to post and let you all know that Ken is doing really great. I have been so busy because he has been requesting so much food. What sounds good to him doesn't always work so well, so many attempted meals are discarded after only a few bites and another meal is tried.

His blood levels have been a little low in the past few weeks but have come up in the most recent days. We have some scans next week so we should know soon whether or not the chemo and radiation worked and how well. So keep them prayers comin'!

There are some rumors floating around town that Ken has taken a turn for the worse, so please put a damper on those if you hear them. He is getting stronger every day. We have had a couple milestones as well. He has been playing with the cat for the first time since he has been home. It may not sound like a milestone to you, but I considered as such. Anything that he does that is considered normal activity for him, I celebrate, for it has been three months since he has had any normalcy.

He is still sleeping a lot, but that is nothing new for him. He has always enjoyed sleep. Just like me:)

We'll talk soon. Until then......Inga